Kuba Rattan Shield, Woven

A long shield, woven rather than carved, built for being struck.

Kuba makers of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, wove this shield in rattan and wood in the 20th century. Woven shields were commonly carried in Central Africa as light, flexible protection and as markers of status. The elongated oval is tightly plaited in fine horizontal bands, a narrow vertical ridge runs down the center, and the weave has deepened to a dark chocolate with softer brown where hands have held it. The edges are firm and neat.

About fifty-two inches tall. Lean it in a corner and it becomes a quiet, tall exclamation point.